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SolidSnakeIF-Rockerz

New Delhi: It's an invitation that's hard to resist especially when it comes with a strong suggestion of judging you on how patriotic you are. Also thrown in is a chance for you to participate in making history. So, no wonder then that everyone wants to contribute to helping the Taj Mahal make it to the Seven Wonders of the World list.

And the countdown for the new Seven Wonders list has begun with five days to go for the announcement.

"Type TAJ and SMS it to 4567. People please vote," says a student, Vipul Malhotra.

While another student and Taj enthusiast, Ipsanah Rashid Khan appeals, "I request everyone to please vote for the Taj Mahal."

The euphoria perhaps is well deserved. After all, it's only now that the new Seven Wonders list will be drawn but the inclusion itself may not translate into actual results for the Taj.

"The Seven Wonders list is a completely unofficial and meaningless one. However, it has been very exciting to see the euphoria but the real achievement will be if this great mass movement gets more people involved with heritage sites," Conservation Architect Ratish Nanda says.

Taj itself gains little from this list, as it has no relief from stinking riverfront or addition to funds for its upkeep or even a sudden spurt of tourists.

But the foundation behind the campaign has its commerce worked out – there are coffee mugs, T-shirts, bags, official new Seven Wonder pins that can be bought on the website. Also on offer are tours, screensavers and an official song.

"It is a marketing ploy to generate revenues through the Internet. So, the question is are all these ways of making personal gains?" Nanda asks.

Inclusion or no inclusion, Shah Jehan's white wonder will always remain an architectural marvel – an ode to romance and historic splendour.

penguin manNewbie

I do believe that the whole idea of Taj Mahal being removed from the 7 wonders of the world is a marketing idea or just a rumor. There is no way you can take a "wonder" and replace it with something new or something with a spiritual meaning. I don't know why the rumor is going around, but it's never going to happen.

SolidSnakeIF-Rockerz

Actually the this has been an old problem with us Indians, kuchh dikhta nahi aisa contest ki crazy ho jaate hain.

Once again our idiot media is on forefront, every news channel is beaming something or other about this contest. And we are crazily voting, without realising that the organisers of this contest have no authority or mandate to declare any such offical list. Do you see anyone in US/EU/China/Japan etc bothering so much about this contest..as if it were a matter of national prestige, lekim hum aise hi hain.

sohnSenior Member

Its amazin how ppl have started believing in internet n mobile polls and take them to be genuine.

I was one of them till Amey Date was evicted from Idian Idol, I actually thought it was a genuine stuff going on there from Sony cus its on one of the prime channels of Indian television! But I guess, everyone is after making money, lots n lots of money. The earlier everyone realises it, the better.

'Vote For Taj' Campaign A Gimmick, Say Officials

Sunday 24th of June 2007 The credibility of the much-hyped campaign to vote the Taj Mahal as one of the world's seven new wonders is now in question.

'The New 7 Wonders of the World' campaign has been launched by the owner of a Swiss website. 'The whole campaign is a media hoax,' says Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society here. 'How can the whole government machinery be used to hype a campaign launched by a private entrepreneur?'

Sudhir Kumar, the Agra chief of the Indian government's tourism department, admitted that the campaign was a private one and those supporting it were doing so in their private capacity.

'The campaign is not backed by any government agency, though we feel it is good and in the interest of the tourism industry as a whole to promote the Taj Mahal,' Kumar told IANS.

K. Mishra, a senior official in the Uttar Pradesh tourism department, said his office had nothing to do with the campaign.

K.K. Sharma of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) here described the campaign as 'economic exploitation of the sentiments of the Indian people. No two monuments are alike and they should not be compared.

'It is an injustice to the status and dignity of the Taj Mahal.'

But the ASI has circulated banners and pamphlets appealing to people to vote for the Taj though this initiative has reportedly been taken by its Bhopal circle.

The tourism industry has been promoting the campaign in its own interest. Several government agencies and voluntary groups have also got involved.

District Magistrate Mukesh Meshram headed a procession this week to mobilise votes for the Taj.

Mughal historian R. Nath says the whole campaign is uncalled for. 'The Taj is already a taj (crown). It needs no certification from any authority.'

The people on the street here do not know who has promoted the campaign, but think it is the government. One hotelier said: 'We thought it must be a government-supported campaign since the district authorities were taking so much interest.'

Unesco, which runs the World Heritage Programme, has denied that it has anything to do with this campaign.

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